Venomous
Venemous | a story by Miststream Prologue "Breezefoot, don't go!" the cat wailed in agony. "Don't leave me!" The gray she-cat struggling for her life lay panting below the Commanding Rock, her chest heaving, coming out in ragged, torn gasps. "Be prepared for the worse," a small red cat meowed next to Breezefoot. "This is in the paws of StarClan, Thorntail. There is nothing anyone can do about it." "She was too young to die," Thorntail whispered, his eyes looking sunken and aghast. He sat down and stared blankly at the barely stirring body. "She could have become a warrior, lived a life. She could have had a mate and kits, and experience the life of a warrior before going." "I know, Thorntail. You loved her. We all did. Breezefoot will be watching over us in the stars, more sound and safe than she ever was here, in a monopoly, jeopardizing life in every movement with the Sickness. StarClan has done her a favor." "Stop! Don't say that, Poppyfur." Thorntail let out a low snarl. "You could have saved her. But you didn't. You didn't. You're no good as a medicine cat, you never were! Step down, you don't deserve it!" "You are blind to your words, Thorntail," Poppyfur murmured sympathetically. "I know you don't mean what you say. We shall sit vigil with her tonight and announce it to the Clan at dawn's light." Everything is falling apart. Thorntail sobbed and pressed his nose into Breezefoot's flank, heaving in her scent one last time before the rancid smell of death overtook it. The Sickness is a chaos. And no cat is in power to control it. I sat down in the cold, clumped mess of moss and bracken on the den floor. I am powerless: and so is StarClan. Chapter One "Are you sure?" I breathed. "She can't! It's been gone for moons now." "She might," Poppyfur murmured sadly. "And no surprise at that. It's been our focal point for seasons upon seasons -- our worst foe. It has disappeared many moons on end, and appeared suddenly in one cat. It is not gone, Creekheart. It will never be. "Dawnfur is a strong cat, too," Poppyfur continued. "But we shan't get our hopes up. Your mother must be worried sick." "Mistfoot is very concerned, yes," I agreed carefully. "Dawnfur has lived a long life and it would really strike Mistfoot if her mother died. But Mistfoot is also my mother, and she is getting old. I am concerned for her too." "The Sickness only comes for the worst of cats," a voice meowed behind me. I spun to find Cloudfur speaking. "The youngest and most fit must never fear." "Well, I must be getting back to Dawnfur now, Creekheart," Poppyfur meowed. "Take care." She spun and padded into the mouth of the medicine den. "Do not worry, Creekheart, your mother will be fine. Dawnfur will be fine. RainClan is a safe place for all cats." Cloudfur gave me a comforting nudge, and began to walk toward the fresh-kill pile. "We try to keep the worst of it out of our home," he added over his shoulder. I watched him go, and shivered. Whatever would happen, Dawnfur was in danger, and I knew it. I returned to camp, jaws laden with prey. I deposited two mice and a starling onto the pile, sitting back on my haunches and nodded with pleasure. Though leaf-bare would hit RainClan full on, they would meet it squarely. "Creekheart." I turned and saw the deputy of RainClan, Leafbright, approach me. "Thornstar would like to speak with you." "Okay," I meowed. "I'll be with him right after this patrol - " "Now. In private," Leafbright added. "I'll tell Sharpwhisker and Moonshine to continue without you." "All right, thanks, Leafbright." The deputy nodded, and I turned and headed toward the leader's den, hidden away in a crack in the rock, beneath the Commanding Rock. I couldn't help but wondering what Thornstar would want a word with me for. Have I done something wrong? Or am I being punished...because of Dawnfur? I shivered. That would not be good. I purposefully stepped loudly outside Thornstar's den. "Come in," a low, cracked voice came. The intensity of the emotion in it startled me. I had never seen my leader in this state before. Thornstar's back faced me. It seemed he was intently staring at the wall, as if looking to the smooth gray surface for answers. "You must leave." "Huh?" I asked, startled. The old leader turned slowly and stared straight into my eyes. "Leave. You must leave here and find the cure." "W-what cure? Cure for what?" "You know perfectly well what I'm referring to." And Thornstar was right. I did. But I was still immensely confused. "But how? The Sickness is more than we can handle at the moment. I am in no position to find any cure for this. It has haunted us for seasons," I gasped, throwing out reasons why I shouldn't do this. "Do not talk back to me, Creekheart," Thornstar ordered severely. "Yes, you are in no position to deal with this. Precisely why I am choosing you to do this. The Clan believes the Sickness has left us entirely; they are to the utmost point of wrong. I, as a leader, have been through many a period of decline, yet it always comes back: there's nothing we can do." "How am I any different from the rest of us?" I wondered. "Don't deny it, Creekheart," the leader of RainClan murmured. "I know Dawnfur has the Sickness." ~-~-~-~-~ Muttering curses under my breath, I padded out of the camp, my tail dragging in the dust. What was I supposed to do? What was my aim? Where was I to go? So many questions. I feared I would never attain the answers for a long time. "Hey, Creekheart, wait up!" a cat mewed behind me. I stopped and turned to wait for the slightly pink-tinted cat running to catch up with me.'' I had known this cat since my birth, and I didn't know how to break it to her that I was to be sent on a quest from which I may never return. "Hi Rosefur," I mewed. "What's up?" she asked cheerfully. "Leafbright said Thornstar'd summoned you. Must've been pretty important, huh?" From her tone I knew she was expecting me to spill. I tried to come up with a viable excuse, but I didn't see why not. My friend was used to my blunt ways; only this one might be blunter than ever. "I need to find the cure. For the Sickness." Rosefur froze, her jaws slightly ajar. "B-but no one's ever found it!" she protested. "And all the cat's who have always came back empty-pawed...or didn't come back at all!" "I know," I mewed a little wistfully. It didn't change anything when my friend restated the dire position of things to me and I already knew. "But Dawnfur has the Sickness. I have to. Or Mistfoot will never forgive me. ''Thornstar will be disappointed. He's pretty pumped for me to go, you know. No one will accept me." "And if you come back?" "That's just it." I stared at her. "I won't find it. And if I don't find it, I can't come back." Rosefur looked sick. "Is that it? Has Thornstar indirectly ordered an exile? But you've never done anything wrong before." I shook my head. "Think about it. Every cat will be hoping for a solution or, at least an answer. But if I come back with nothing, they'll practically tear me apart." Rosefur nodded slowly, catching on. "Better they remember you as a hero who died journeying for a good cause than a coward who came back to camp for fear of not finding anything." "I still need to go, either way. I just need to say goodbye to my mother, but I don't know if Mistfoot'll cope." "Oh, she will," Rosefur mewed. "She wants Dawnfur to get well. We all do. You have to go; you can do it. I know you can." "Thanks," I mewed gratefully, pressing my nose into her shoulder. "And one more thing." "Yeah?" "I'm coming with you." Chapter Two "You remember the risks, right?" I mewed cautiously. I wanted my best friend to come with me, whether I liked it or not, but I knew it was dangerous -- for her and for me. "Thornstar will ask you." "Oh yes," Rosefur mewed. Then she added playfully, "But the hardest part will be traveling with an old grump like you!" I laughed and butted my head against her flank fondly. I pawed apart the bramble screen and found Thornstar practically sitting in the same position as when I had talked to him before. His head rested on his paws wearily, and he looked as if he had lived for eons. Thornstar looked worse than before. "Thornstar, I -- " Thornstar glanced up and immediately understood. "You want this cat to travel with you, huh." It was more of a statement than a question. "You know the risks. You've talked about this for seasons before coming to me." "Yes," I gulped uncertainly. "Go well. And go with my blessing. Because no matter how skilled and how hard-trained, none of the cure seekers have ever returned." "T-thank you, Thornstar." "And one more thing." Thornstar stood shakily and came to me. "Beware of the ice. It has defeated the best of us, and gained the better of us for centuries." And then he walked out the entrance. I mouthed, Beware the ice? Rosefur looked just as bewildered. What's that supposed to mean? I composed myself and Rosefur did the same. We walked out of the leader's den as if nothing had happened. Then I rememebered about Mistfoot. "Hold on," I told Rosefur, my eyes giving her a silent message. She nodded in understanding. I gently entered the warriors' den and found Mistfoot in the corner of the empty den, lightly snoozing, though I knew she was having troubled dreams."Mistfoot." It took a couple tries to rouse my mother. It startled me as to how much older she seemed in the dim light of the den, old, fragile, and weary. Her eyes were calloused with dark circles, as if she had not gotten much sleep. "Creekheart...? Is that you?" she mewed, her voice cracking with tiredness. "Yes, Mistfoot." I sat down next to my mother. "Thornstar has set me up on a quest." "A quest?" Mistfoot purred. "My kit is already a warrior. What is the quest?" I didn't want to say it. Mistfoot looked so proud, and telling her the truth might shatter it. But I knew I had no choice. "A cure." I looked away. "A cure for the Sickness. I need to heal Dawnfur." Mistfoot's purring stopped. She blinked once, so shocked her face didn't reveal any emotion. Then she collapsed on the mossy nest and squeezed her eyes shut. "Mistf--" "Go if you must. May StarClan be with you." And she got up and licked my forehead. I blinked, suddenly frightful of the quest laid out before me. I just wanted to curl up next to my mother, her warm purring in my ear, and dream away the nightmare... "Thank you," I mewed.